The Reaper Files: The Chaser Infection
by Gamoden
Summary: What does one do when a game becomes real? When the heartbeat one is used to hearing as a sound effect is their own heart? When a reaper one is used to running from becomes real? Does one run and hide, or stand and fight?
1. Chapter 1 Good Times Gone Bad

Stylish eSper Shooting Sports Fan fiction

The Reaper Files : The Chaser Infection

Introduction

What does one do when a game becomes real? When the heartbeat one is used to hearing as a sound effect is their own heart? When a reaper one is used to running from becomes real? Does one run and hide, or stand and fight? This time though... the fight is for your actual life.

This story is about a group of players of the popular online game called S4 League. Unlike in real life, the game has been made into a virtual reality game, using a head visor, still using a keyboard though. These new features have taken the game to a whole new level. The gameplay more interactive and intense then ever. The members of Clan Shinsei and the other players do not yet realize the dangers that they soon will face when hackers cause system corruption within the game and bring the all too familiar chaser virus to life. The fight in the game will now become a fight for their lives.

Authors Notes:

When it involves real life, the characters will be called by their real life names. When they're in game then they will be called by their character names. The characters though may call each other by their character names or even their nicknames. Since there is a good chance not everyone who reads this will be familiar with S4 allow me to explain.

Characters:

The characters in this story are both going to be called by their real name and in game names. As such here is a list of the characters real names to character names

James - Gamoden

Michelle - misherukuro or Misheru

Jon - KichiK or Kichi

Louis - OwlEyes or Owl

Nick - Arcanafate or Arc

Timmy - Taowel or Tao

The Story of S4

Note this is the story of the game itself, so in it's own world. Thusly the time is a bit ahead of modern time. The Story of S4 takes place a few years in the future. The World got sick of war and decided to simulate wars using a virtual reality program and considered the effects real as far as the power struggles go. However, some countries got upset as the program could have easily been biased and decided that they would go back to real wars and that ended up being the outcome and the virtual reality program was terminated. Years later the source of the Virtual Reality war program was leaked online and a group of game developers got a hold of it and turned it into a game. Over the years the game became so popular that it has been turned into an official sport. The Stylish eSper Shooting Sports League or S4.

Matches:

Chaser: In Chaser mode one person is infected with a controlled chaser virus which sets them against all of the other players. The objective is to either defeat the chaser or survive the round without getting killed yourself.

Touch Down: An eclectic mix of football, soccer, and capture the flag. Two teams start off on opposite sides and the fumbi or ball is in the middle. The objective is to get the fumbi to their opponent's goal.

Death Match: As simple as it sounds Two teams duke it out in a free for all. Highest points win.

Chapter 1

Good Times Gone Bad...

James made his way over to computer desk after a long day at work. He was exhausted and just wanted to relax and relieve some stress. He turned on his desk top computer and raised the screen on his laptop on the snack table right next to the desk. He signed into Skype on his laptop to see who was on and if anyone else from his clan in game would be interested in playing. He looked at his contact list and saw that both Jon, Timmy, Louis, and Nick were all on. James had many different friends on Skype, and a number of different chats were open for selection. One was just the general chat, but he was focused solely on the one that had been set aside for the members of the S4 League. Eagerly he typed the messages reading:

Kuro: Hey guys. Let's play a few rounds in S4 Fire up the VC!

Kichi Kuronagi: Sure gimme a sec

Kuro: Ok

Before long James saw the box appear on his screen saying that Jon had started the voice chat and he quickly pressed the answer button. Which changed the box to show who all had answered the call.

"Hey guys. How's it going?"

James asked eagerly to his clan members as they all answered the voice chat call. Jon, Louis, Timmy, and Nick had all answered. This was going to be an entertaining afternoon James was sure.

"Doing alright, logging in. Where's Michelle?"

"She'll be on after she gets home from work."

James replied to Jon's question, he could hear the clicking of his friend's mouse. Jon was the one who had gotten him into S4 in the first place and James always

had a good time playing the game with him and the rest of clan Shinsei as well.

"Alright, I'm getting on as well. See you all in the game."

James replied, clicking the mouse to sign onto S4 before he put on his visor and picked up his controller. He then turned on the visor as the S4 logo appeared on the screen over his eyes as the game started up. Before long he was logged in and he was standing in the lobby. It looked like a hotel lobby kind of, a few places to sit. There were a lot of people on it seemed, the great majority of them gathered around the three boards posting the different types of matches going on and which rooms they were in. The three types of match were Chaser, Touch Down, and Death Match. Gamoden looked around the lobby searching for KichiK, Owleyes, Taowel, and Arcanafate and it wasn't long before he saw all of them had signed in as well. Gamoden waved at them all in greeting. Gamoden accessed his My Panel and switched the chat over to the Clan chat.

"Hey guys! So what shall we do?"

"I'm up for just about anything." OwlEyes replied, which was true he usually always was.

"Yeah same here, how about a death match at Highway just the four of us?" Taowel suggested.

"Sure I'm game... what's taking Kichi so long?"

Gamoden looked around at his friends from Gaiaonline and fellow members of Clan Shinsei. Only Tao tended to wear the very basics. A yellow hoodie with grey short sleeves and padded white slacks, sneakers and gloves. Owl wore a jacket that only really covered his arms and not much else. The avatar's bare flesh exposed with some black tattoos running down from the ribcage to his waist. He also wore a pair of baggy pants, the lower part of the right pants leg removed by a zipper. On the left pant leg there was a chain that wrapped around the shin of the pants. Other then that he wore basic sneakers, white fingerless gloves and sunglasses. Arcanafate was wearing the attire known as the space suit with an Envy Ranger helmet on. Gamoden however wore a long coat white coat that went down to about his knees that had some black detailing and a large chain attached at the sides that hung from the back. Two long black tails fell from the base of the neck of the coat down it's entire length. Beneath the coat was nothing but his bare flesh, not that he could feel hot or cold anyway so it was no big deal. A steel mask covered his mouth and nose, black pants with a white belt and black boots that had white armor on them that went up to his thighs.

At that moment Kichi ran up to them up to them beaming with a big smile on his face as he stopped in front of them. He was wearing the purple colored layered jacket, layered pants, headphones, and the default sneakers.

"Guys guys! I finally got my permanent pimp rifle from the Fumbi dance!"

KichiK referred to the semi-rifle with a black top and gold underside as the "Pimp rifle" and to the rest of them that was common knowledge. KichiK had wanted it for the longest time and it seemed today was finally his lucky day.

"That's cool!" Gamoden replied, "Now hurry up and go make us a Death Match on Highway for just the four of us."

"Alright, I'll invite you all when it's ready."

Kichi replied as he pulled out his My Panel and pressed the button to create a new room. He vanished in a series of green ones and zeros leaving the rest of them to wait in the lobby while he got it all set up. It didn't take more then a minute until they all would receive the invite from Kichi on their My Panel. Gamoden quickly pressed the button and just as Kichi had done he too had vanished in a series of ones and zeros. In the visor he saw the same series of ones and zeros but they would only last for a moment before he appeared in the waiting room for the match. He walked over to the panel that Kichi had put his name in on Kichi's sid, the alpha team. Pretty much divvying the teams up except for one of them. Taowel and OwlEyes appeared in the room and entered in their names for the beta team. Arcanafate was last too arrive and he was automatically signed on to the alpha team.

"Alright ready up if you haven't."

Everyone hit the ready buttons on their My Panel and they all teleported in the normal fashion down to the field below. Gamoden looked around at the scenery, the all too familiar underside of the highway which was above their heads. Gamoden held his hand out to his side and his semi-rifle appeared in his hand. He quickly dashed forward into a fenced in area and then up a set of steps to the upper level of the area below. Immediately he engaged Taowel, firing his semi-rifle as he ran along the overhang trying to dodge the fire. He was about to be defeated when Arcanafate finished off Taowel from behind with a plasma sword strike.

"Thanks Nick." Gamoden said to his team mate after he helped him, falling back to their real life names as he tended to do when they were playing alone at least, "Gah!"

He flew forward a few feet as he was beamed from behind by OwlEyes with his rail gun and for a few seconds he saw in the visor Owl standing on a platform a ways off and a count down signifying how long it would take him to respawn. During which time Kichi had gotten to his secret sniping spot and blasted Owl with his own rail gun. As soon as his invincible state had worn off after he had respawned he dashed forward once again. Jumping against a bus and then the familiar feeling of inversion as he pushed off from the side of the bus and then pushed off of a pillar next to the bus resulting in a wall jump on top of the bus. He soon saw Taowel yet again and brought out his counter sword, a short blade in his right hand and a floating mechanical gauntlet, covering his left arm. Jumping off of the bus to strike down at Taowel in the jump attack, a fierce thrust brought Gamoden down to the ground and then it was followed up by an upper-cut from a shadow telekinetic hand hitting Taowel head on and then it was followed by a few quick cuts finishing him off.

"Too slow Tao!" Gamoden called out using the general chat. "Owww!"

He yelled out as yet again OwlEyes sent him spiraling due to a blast from his rail gun. As his vision zoomed in on Owl in the distance, Gamoden laughed as he watched Kichi smash Owl from behind using his purple storm bat sending him crashing into a bus and finishing him off. This general kind of non-stop chaos ensued for the next 30 minutes, the time and action going by in a blur to the Clan members and before long they were back in the waiting room. Kichi, Gamoden, and Arcanafate had won the match but by only one kill.

"Well that was fun." Gamoden said to the group, a big smile on his face, "A much closer match then I could have anticipated. What shall we do now?"

"I need a Touch Down match in Colosseum for a mission." OwlEyes replied, "If you guys want to join me that's fine."

"Sounds fine to me. Let's show them what Clan Shinsei can do!"

Gamoden replied to Owl's request. Kichi quickly reprogrammed the room. The view below them becoming a series of ones and zeros with a black background as the arena below them changed from the Highway into the archaic structure of the Colosseum. The center of the field directly below them and the large Victorian towers on either side. It didn't take long for once for the room to fill up and the teams set up so that the whole of Clan Shinsei were on the same team.

"Alright it's set, ready up."

They all walked up to their corresponding panels and plugged in their names into the system and Kichi started the match, all of them teleporting down to their respective sides of the field. The members of Clan Shinsei on the Alpha team the other group on the Beta team.

"Fight! Show me your S4!"

The commentator's voice rang out across the field signifying the start of the match. Everyone on their side dashed up the starting stairs, some went out the blue wires on the right where the other team's goal was and some went left.

"Each of the teams are making their preparations. A number of the alpha team are making a charge for the fumbi. But here comes the Beta team as well!"

Gamoden, Tao, and Kichi were running in, Kichi in the center road. Tao on the left and Gamoden on the right paths running along the glass tunnels that typically would lead up the goals. Kichi then anchored up on top of the glass circle and jumped down and grabbed the fumbi.

"KichiK of the Alpha team has grabbed the fumbi and the three are still advancing toward the beta team's goal! Will they go all the way?"

Gamoden fired off his semi-rifle to break the glass circle that Kichi was trapped in and they dashed forward.

"Oh! KichiK has been gunned down by the Beta team, but wait Gamoden has picked up the Fumbi! He could go all the way and he does! Using a well timed plasma sword dash attack to rush into the goal!"

"Yeah All Right!"

Gamoden yelled out as he jumped in the air in his joy. In the next few seconds they were teleported back to their starting places.

"Fight! Show me your S4!"

The commentator shouted yet again at the start of the new round. Yet again the clan moved out, running in their own directions with their own plans.

"Both teams are making a strong charge toward the fumbi yet again! This time it's the Beta team's Shakugaan who claims it this time and is quickly rushing towards the goal! Oh Wait! A fine rail gun shot from OwlEyes has sent her spiraling and the Alpha team has picked up the Fumbi yet again!"

"Great shot Owl!"

"Nice one!"

Gamoden and Arcanafate yelled out cheering his team mate on as he followed behind Tao who had claimed the fumbi this time. He soon fell down below though just as Tao did as the opposing team broke the bridge that led directly to the goal. Forcing them both to run up the ramp that lead to the goal instead, the longer of the two paths to be sure. He continued to follow behind Tao as he ran toward the goal, running and jumping to the sides to avoid the relentless stream of bullets that flew at them. However it wasn't enough.

"Oh! Taowel and Gamoden have both been taken down by the Beta team and Zetsubuo has grabbed the fumbi and is making his way quickly toward the goal!"

Gamoden cursed under his breath as he charged forward out of the respawn point, dashing to increase his speed as he ran to the right and up to defend the goal. However it was too late, and just as he had done Zetsubuo had used the dash attack into the goal.

"Touch Down! The Beta Team has scored tying the game up one to one!"

The match continued in this fashion back and forth through both the first and second half but in the end the Alpha team had come out on top winning by two points. The final score was ten to eight. When the match was over they were all taken yet again to the waiting room. Gamoden beamed at this fellow clan members they had won the match and it had been an epic one indeed. All of them stretched somewhat, the good match wearing them all out.

"Well I think I'm done for the night."

Kichi said as he looked at the group.

"Yeah same here, I need to get some sleep."

Arcana said in basically agreement to Kichi's decision and then promptly left the room.

"Same."

Owl and Tao both replied. Basically all of them were leaving for the night it seemed.

"Alright then, I'll talk to you guys tomorrow I guess. I need to do a few chaser rounds

for a mission this week. Night guys."

Gamoden replied as he left the waiting room, automatically teleporting him back to the lobby. He was a bit disappointed that all of his clan members had left so soon. But there was nothing that could be done about it really. So he walked over to the large boards and looked at the list of chaser matches. He soon found one at his favorite sight for Chaser matches. The all too familiar Temple O and soon entered in the room number and teleported to the waiting room. It seemed to be just his luck the match was just about to start so he quickly readied up and they were all teleported to the stage below.

"This is the Chaser..."

The normal voice announced as the all too familiar Chaser Virus made it's appearance. The skeleton wrapped in it's usual tattered cloak. It's scythe in it's left hand and the red bandanna over it's eyes sockets. On it's back was the strange decorative fan. A demon inscribed in it, the ends coming to sharp points. It placed it's hands upon the one who had spawned in the very center of the field within the octagonal shrine. The person who stood there had nothing distinguishing about them. Just wearing the standard red t-shirt and shorts and white spiked hair. He held in his hands crossing over his chest the sub-machine guns.

"Bring it!"

The announcer said starting the match. Immediately Gamoden ran out of the room with one of the glass walls facing shrine where the chaser was and immediately ran into one of the hallways of the outer building using the dash ability to go at high speeds and out of the door into the courtyard. He then used his anchoring ability the chain and spike launched out and stuck into the over hang of the door and the shuttle launched along the chain sending Gamoden up on top of the overhang. Looking down he could track the chaser as well as fire upon him without being down there with the enhanced player. He brought out his semi-rifle and began unloading upon the chaser as he tried to eliminate the targets that were running around below. The chaser for the first round at least seemed more focused on chasing after the targets below and Gamoden easily survived. He noted though that someone else had had entered the room named XxShinigamixX.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Next round will be starting!"

"This is the Chaser..."

Gamoden's vision yet again focused on the new chaser who could not have looked different in contrast. It was the person who had just entered at the start of the last round XxShinigamixX. This man was dressed in the cowboy set, of course since he was chaser it was all in red. White hair fell from his head, his eyes covered by the red hat pulled low over his eyes. A long tattered trench coat draped over his frame exposing a Y-shaped scar over his chest as though he had been cut open for an autopsy. He wore red pants and cowboy boots as the Skeleton chaser virus laid it's skeleton hand upon his head. The name Shinigami had never fit so well with any other appearance. Held over his shoulders was a burst shotgun.

"Bring it!"

Instead of running out into the hallway of the ring shaped building Gamoden instead blasted his semi-rifle at the glass in front of him, blowing it open. He then jumped up into the window frame, preventing it from repairing itself and yet again began firing at the Chaser. He figured it was adrenaline but he could feel his heart starting to beat fast in real life as the Chaser began to stalk the players. It wasn't more then ten seconds into the round that the familiar sound went off indicating the Chaser had defeated someone. James' eyes narrowed though as he saw that it was not only the target, but that the person defeated left the room as soon as they were defeated. It wasn't more then a few seconds until another one, yet again the selected target was eliminated and also left the room.

"That's strange. I wonder what is going on."

Chaining down the line of targets it seemed XxShinigamixX hunted down target after target and defeated them all. Six targets defeated until the Chaser's attention turned to Gamoden. He quickly closed the distance as Gamoden jumped out of the window frame, finally causing the virtual glass to be restored. He quickly used the dash yet again to get some distance between himself and the Chaser.

"What is going on? My heart is racing..."

James said to himself in real life and sure enough as the Chaser shattered the glass and yet again quickly closed the distance his heart rate increased to what seemed like dangerous levels. Gamoden quickly brought out his counter sword bringing the mechanical gauntlet in front of him in the revenge mode. If the Chaser tried to do a melee attack it would stun him. It was a mistake though as the Chaser hit Gamoden with a Burst Shotgun blast. The distinct sound of the shell hitting the ground and then another shot rang out.

"Gah!"

Spit escaped from James' mouth as it felt like he had been hit square in the chest, not once but twice. Just as Gamoden fell down defeated, so too did James. He fell out of his chair and landed on the floor, the visor still pulled over his eyes. The screen showed static for a few minutes before it suddenly faded to black...


	2. Chapter 2 Virtualization!

The Reaper Files : The Chaser Infection

New characters:

In this chapter there are two new relevant members to Clan Shinsei.

Michelle - Misherukuro or Misheru

Amy - Whitemantis or Mantis

Chapter 2

Virtualization!

The next day Jon was just browsing the web, waiting for the members of Clan Shinsei to log on to Skype so that they could go have another evening of fun on S4. Things had been pretty dead and quiet all day it seemed and he was bored. The previous evening had been epic, the Clan had never coincided so well or at least he thought. They were all getting up there, both in terms of skill and level. Jon's attention turned to Skype as he heard the familiar sound of someone signing in.

"Oh! James is getting on."

He quickly opened up a voice chat and it was answered.

"Hey James..."

"Kichi! Something has happened to James!"

It turned out it was James' wife Michelle. Jon noted the worried edge in her voice as she spoke, her words bringing him to high alert.

"Whoa... calm down and tell me what's going on."

"Alright..." She said taking a few breaths trying to calm herself down, "Last night I came home to find James lying on the floor unconscious. His visor still pulled over his eyes. He has fallen into a coma and had to be hospitalized!"

"What! Are you being serious? Was it a seizure or something?"

"I am serious and I don't think so... Something about this doesn't feel right. He hasn't had a problem with the game before... I'm going into the game to check the message boards. Maybe someone else has heard something about this."

"Wait up! I'm coming too!"

It wasn't Jon this time who spoke up but Amy, another member of Clan Shinsei. She had joined a few weeks after James and Michelle. The newest member of the Clan and the least experienced but that didn't mean that she wasn't skilled.

"I'm going to leave a message for the other clan members on here telling them what is going on for when they get on." Jon said as they heard the familiar typing sound over the microphone, "See you all in game."

"Alright, see you there Kichi."

Michelle said as she ended the voice chat on her end and began to sign into S4. She pulled the visor over her eyes as the game's logo appeared. It wasn't long before her character appeared in the lobby and she looked around. She wore a long sleeve jacket that was covered with green patterns and diamonds, her pants and gloves, and shoes matched this same design. In her hair was sunflower and her hair was a flat blonde style that fell down to about her neck. She walked over to the virtual message board and began to scan over the topics. For the time being it seemed that there was nothing regarding comas or people even falling unconscious aside from the "risk of seizure" advisory posted.

"Nothing... guess I'll check back later."

She sounded a bit discouraged as she quickly pulled out her My Panel and added the topic to the list, hoping someone would respond. She turned her attention to the lobby and waved over at Kichi and Amy as they entered the lobby. She quickly walked over to them all the while deep in thought as she tried to figure out what might have happened to her husband. She looked at Amy in her hot pink hair and her hoodie and the same indian style green pants that she herself wore Kichi wore the same thing that he was the day before. Misherukuro's eyes narrowed as she approached them.

"There wasn't anything posted on the message boards so I posted a topic about it. Hopefully we'll get some answers."

"That sounds like a good idea."

Kichi replied to her as he looked around the lobby. The all too familiar match boards were showing how many and where the matches were taking place. Right now though he wasn't focused on the game, he was worried for Michelle as well as the fate of his friend.

"Wait a minute! I'm confused, what's going on!"

Whitemantis piped up as she looked from Kichi to Misheru. She had apparently missed the voice chat regarding what had happened to James. Despite the situation, Kichi and Misheru couldn't help but laugh at her complete lack of attention to details.

"James was hospitalized last night. He apparently fell comatose while playing the game and we have no idea why."

Misheru explained, trying to maintain calm. But just thinking about the situation simply made her worry more. At that moment all three of them pulled out their My Panels as they heard the all too familiar sound it made when a person on their friends list signed in.

"Oh! Tao's getting on. I hope that he read the message regarding what is happening..."

"What! How is this possible!" Misheru exclaimed as she looked at her My Panel. She had seen the notice about Tao as well but her attention became focused on something else, "It says here that James is online and he's in a match right now!"

Kichi quickly closed the notice and his eyes narrowed as he looked at his friend's list and saw that she was right, somehow the name Gamoden showed clearly on the list that he was online.

"Well that's... strange." Kichi replied as he looked at the room number and tried to hit the join button, "Darn it his match is full... looks like it will be going on for awhile too."

At that moment Taowel ran up to the greet them all. But his expression wasn't one of happiness, it was evident that he had read the message.

"You guys seriously think that the game had anything to do with what happened to James?"

"We don't know Tao... right now we're just exploring the different possibilities." Kichi replied as he looked at his friend, "Something seems very wrong with all of this though."

"Grrr... I can't stand just sitting here waiting. As much as I want answers it would drive me insane. Let's go do a Touch Down match in Tunnel."

Misheru said in agitation and the others nodded in both understanding and consent. Though they were all worried about James none of them were as close to him as Michelle, which was a given since she was his wife.

"Alright. I'll go make the match, invite you all in a sec."

Kichi said as he looked at Misheru, it was pretty evident that she wasn't taking this too well, not that he could blame her. Things didn't make sense right now, especially since according to the lists James was still online when clearly his computer had been signed off of and he was in the hospital. He shook his head as he vanished in a the same series of ones and zeros. It would only take a minute before all of them were accepting the invite to join the room.

"Thanks Kichi..."

Misheru said as she walked over to the panel and punched in her name on his team. Mantis and Tao joined on the opposite team making it even for the time being.

"Sure... Ready up!"

Everyone hit the ready button on their My Panels after checking their gear and the next moment they were all teleported down to the field below.

"Start! Show me your S4!"

The commentator said signifying the start of not only the match but the round. Misheru jumped down for the starting spot above the tunnel to their goal which she needed to defend and began to make her charge. Kichi meanwhile used Anchor to grapple onto the tunnel over the goal and pulled out his rail gun.

"And Misherukuro of the Alpha team is making a strong run toward the fumbi firing her sub-machine guns at Taowel of the Beta team as she goes. Oh! and Taowel just got sniped from KichiK's rail gun!"

"Nice one Kichi!"

Misheru said over their team chat as she kicked it into high gear, grabbing the fumbi and going into a dash as she raced up the ramp toward the tunnel to reach the goal to score.

"And Misherukuro is almost there! Will she go all the way! Oh no! She got gunned down right as she was entering the tunnel by both Taowel and Whitemantis and it looks like they are going to go reset."

Right as Misheru reappeared in the blue wires on their side of the field she heard the all too familiar call signifying that the ball had been reset.

"KichiK of the Alpha team is rushing toward the fumbi, Taowel and Whitemantis right on it as well."

"Shoot! Coming Kichi!"

Misheru called out as she dashed down their ramp, quickly making their way toward the center of the field she held out her arm and the Smash Rifle appeared over her hand the shield shaped weapon raised at the ready as she unleashed a barrage of the needle like blasts at both Tao and Mantis.

"And KichiK has grabbed the fumbi. How long will he last though with both Taowel and Whitemantis blasting at him though. "

Suddenly in their visors they would see that two people had joined the room, one of which was OwlEyes, another member of their clan. They had been so caught up in the match they hadn't even realized he had signed in and sure enough the next moment there was the all too familiar bright blue laser blast from a rail gun flying from Misheru's side of the field sending Mantis spiraling. Misheru then finished off Tao with a barrage of needles from the Smash Rifle.

"The Alpha team is still continuing their charge forward. KichiK still with the fumbi in hand. Will they make a Touch Down! Oh No! He's been gunned down by BloodMachine!"

The second new member who had joined grabbed the fumbi for only about a second until he was gunned down by Misheru. This was a blitz tactic the two of them were employing, one rush in and at least one other person following to provide back up in case it was needed.

"Misheru has grabbed the fumbi and it seems she is rushing into the tunnel unopposed. Wait! She's taking fire will she make it! Touch Down!"

Misheru had used the storm bat unleashing the spinning swing three times propelling her into the goal much as a Plasma sword's dash attack would do. She smiled as they all vanished in the green ones and zeros.

"Start! Show me your S4!"

The announcement went off yet again. Signifying the start of the new round. They yet again dashed out of the blue wires and down the ramp into the field. Owl stayed near the goal, to guard as well as to snipe, hiding behind the support for the goal tunnel right above his head. Kichi and Misheru again raced towards the fumbi as did Tao and Mantis.

"And it appears there is a bit of a stale mate as both teams are taking fire. Who will break through to get the fumbi!"

Misheru cursed under her breath as she was gunned down by BloodMachine's smash rifle and watched as he broke through claiming the fumbi. Taowel took down Kichi and the three of them pressed forward. Was it a mistake for all of them to leave their goal undefended? Time would tell.

"Oh OwlEyes has gunned down BloodMachine, However he wasn't fast enough to reclaim the fumbi and Taowel has picked it up. He and Whitemantis are heading into the tunnel."

"Dang it!"

Misheru said in agitation as she respawned and jumped down below racing into the tunnel her storm bat slung over her shoulders as she raced to catch up to them. It was too late though.

"Touch Down! They tied the game!"

They all vanished yet again as they returned to their starting spots to start the next round.

"Start! Show me your S4!"

Again the announcement stated and yet again and both teams began to implement their strategies. A number of semi-pros and rookies joined the match making it five on five. It seemed though that all of the semi-pros ended up on the Alpha team. From there on it it was no real contest the rest of the first and second half went flying by in the time period of about 10 minutes. The final score ten to three, the Alpha Team the winner.

"Well that was fun, good game guys."

Kichi said with a smile on his face as he looked at the group. While the others left the room in silence. Misheru turned her attention back to her friends list, a look of intense focus on her face as she looked at the list.

"Looks like James is out of his match as well. Let's hurry!"

She said urgently as she left the room vanishing in the same usual series of ones and zeros. The other members of the clan soon followed. When they arrived they saw Misheru with her arms wrapped around Gamoden who returned her hug, a small smile on his face.

"Love... I've been so worried about you how are you online right now?"

"What do you mean I am still on at home aren't I?"

Gamoden replied clearly confused. To him it seemed as if nothing had happened. Definitely a possible effect of Virtual Reality is that one could lose touch of their physical being sometimes.

"No James you've been hospitalized." Misheru answered, "I came home last night to find you on the floor unconscious. The doctor's say you've fallen into a coma. Do you remember anything at all?"

Gamoden looked at all of them, scanning their eyes for any sign that they might just be playing some kind of joke on him. But even through their virtual eyes he had a strong feeling they were telling the truth as he lowered himself down into one of the chairs in the lobby, seemingly deep in thought.

"The last thing I remember was participating in a Chaser Match, I was defeated by some player and the next thing I remember I kind of woke up lying on the floor here in the lobby... I remember the strangest sensation... like I had been

punched in the chest, but nothing about hitting the floor or anything like that. But if what you say is the truth... How am I still here?"

"We're not sure..." Kichi answered honestly. He looked at his friend with a worried look on his face, "Have you tried logging out at all?"

Gamoden looked up at Kichi as he spoke and shook his head in reply.

"No I haven't... Maybe if I log out I will wake up."

He replied as he pulled out his My Panel and searched for the shut down button that would log him out of the game. He found it and quickly pressed the button. He vanished in a series of ones and zeros for a few seconds until the sequence returned and Gamoden reformed. He looked around, a look of disappointment set on his face as he realized the truth.

"Looks like I can't log out... I'm stuck here."

Misheru walked up to Gamoden, gently placing her hand on his shoulder and he turned and gave her a small smile, gently grabbing onto her hand and giving it a light squeeze before he removed it.

"Thanks love... but I need some time to myself right now."

Gamoden replied as he gently kissed her cheek and then began to move away from the group. He was confused and now he too was trying to figure out how this could have happened. His mind mulled through the memories of the previous night. This had all happened during that Chaser match...

"Sure in the story of the game the Chaser Virus is a controlled virus but I don't see how that could somehow do this... This doesn't make any sense."

He was muttering to himself, staring blankly at one of the boards as he sat in one of the chairs, kind of lost in his own thoughts. He didn't know what to think about this new development.

"How could I have not noticed something as drastic as a separation of mind from body...? Seems like something that would be hard to miss..."

Misheru and the others watched Gamoden as he seemed locked in this strange inactive state. She was worried about him for sure but until he was ready she didn't know if there was any way to help him. To realize that he couldn't log out and while he was here his body was in a coma... it had to be a lot to absorb.

"So what now?" She asked as she looked at the other members of her clan, they all seemed to be just as confused as she was, "Any ideas?"

"Well he mentioned a Chaser match." Amy replied, "Maybe we should try a match ourselves and see if anything seems out of the ordinary."

The rest of the group nodded their heads in consent. It seemed the most logical way to get information, though maybe not the safest approach. Sometimes though to find the truth one had to do something that could be seen as foolish or reckless.

"Alright, I'll start up a room, I'll send you all invites shortly."

Kichi said right before he disappeared into ones and zeros as usual. As before the next minute they received an invite to the room and they all accessed their My Panels and hit the button to join the room. Below them the all too familiar Temple O came into place. Kichi no longer had the lag problems in Connest 2 that he used to have back before the game had gone virtual. However, some things never changed and he preferred Temple O over it any of the other stages anyway. With the members of Clan Shinsei it was already more the enough people to start the match so they all just readied up and started the match. As soon as they started a number of other people joined. Names that appeared as nothing but flashes along the bottom of the screen, one of which was the final member of Clan Shinsei Arcanafate.

"This is the Chaser..."

The traditional announcement began as Kichi stood in the center of the shrine as the Chaser Virus came down from behind, placing it's skeletal hand upon his head. The purple detailing of his clothes had turned red and his hair had turned white. Kichi's "pimp rifle" the black and gold semi-rifle in his hands.

"Bring it."

"Oh boy..."

Seemed to be the general consensus of the Clan members. In Chaser Kichi was probably the deadliest, his favorite weapons the Storm Bat, Rail Gun, and Semi-rifle. Kichi charged forward, it seemed like this was going to be an easy round for him since there were only four targets. It didn't take long for him to send Whitemantis crashing into a wall, dead in one hit with a storm bat strike. It didn't take more then a few more seconds for Taowel to meet the same fate. Misheru was the next to fall not even five seconds later defeated by Kichi's "pimp rifle". OwlEyes lasted the longest using a combination of shield and counter sword. However, with a few seconds left he was defeated by the Storm Bat as well.

"Next round will be starting."

Kichi stood doing his usual rock, paper, scissors spam in triumph until he like the others disappeared and they all waited for the second round to start.

"This is the Chaser..."

Their cameras focused on the shrine. Zoomed in on one of the other people who entered during the round. This person was adorned in the Midfield gear that Gamoden enjoyed wearing, although he didn't wear a face mask. The red midfield coat very fitting for the chaser, his bare chest exposed. The black detailings of the coat remained black and the white armor plates on the boots had turned black and the boots red. The Chaser's name for this round was BloodyReaper. The name seeming to fit very well with the color scheme of his clothes as well as his intense facial expression.

"Bring it."

Due to his success in the first round Kichi was in first place, unfortunately for him, this made him the initial target. Before Kichi could get away from the window a stream of bullets from the Heavy Machine Gun had shattered the glass. The Chaser soon closed the distance as he jumped into the room where Kichi was. Jon noted that as he ran that the heartbeat that one would often hear when the Chaser was near was the sound of his own beating heart and it was pumping at an incredible rate.

"Guys stay away from this guy... Leave the room now!"

Jon yelled in the general chat and succeeded in entering it right as he was defeated, the high speed rounds of the Heavy Machine Gun too hard to avoid. Just as what had happened to Gamoden the night before Kichi was forced out of the room. As Kichi had instructed the other members of Clan Shinsei got out their My Panels and flipped to the Leave Room screen only to see nothing but an image of the Chaser Virus' head laughing at them. The option of escape it seemed was not an option after all.

"Not good I'm target." Owl declared as he began to run away, his own heart beginning to pound as the Chaser closed in, "Aaah!"

He yelled out in pain as he too was defeated by the Heavy Machine Gun and same as Kichi, was forced out of the room.

"What is happening? Why can't we leave the room like usual?"

Whitemantis asked as she began to fire at the Chaser in a confused panic, not sure if it would do any good but it was better in her eyes then just letting herself be defeated by the Chaser. Thankfully for her though she wasn't the target. However, Misheru was the designated target.

"I think... this is what happened to James. Ah!"

Misheru exclaimed as the bullets of the same Heavy Machine Gun soon defeated her as well. It seemed though that for Mantis, Taowel, and Arcanafate that time was on their side as the round came to an end and hopefully the chaos would end as well.

"5... 4... 3... 2... 1... Next round will be starting!"

They all vanished going back to the respawn points. The remaining members of Clan Shinsei letting out a sigh of relief for now. However, they were now truly worried about the fate of their friends and fellow Clan Members. If Misheru was right then they would be stuck in the game just like Gamoden was.

"This is the Chaser..."

Their cameras focused yet again on the center shrine and their temporary relief vanished as fear took it's place as standing inside the shrine was BloodyReaper yet again.

"Bring It!"

The Heavy Machine Gun yet again whirled to life as the drum began to spin and the stream of bullets once again shattered the glass window that they were behind. Followed shortly after by the Chaser.

"No!"

Taowel yelled out as he was defeated, the first target of this round. Yet again immediately being forced out of the room. Leaving only Mantis and Arcana as the last members of Clan Shinsei standing. Now more then ever they wanted nothing more then to leave the room.

"Yowww!"

Mantis yelled out as she too was defeated, the stream of bullets ripping through her virtual form without mercy and she too was forced out of the room. Arcana unfortunately followed not long after. All of the members of Clan Shinsei were defeated and in their respective homes outside of the game all of their bodies fell to the floor and their screens showed nothing but static until they too faded to black...

When all of them came to they were lying on the floor in the Lobby, Gamoden sitting next to Misheru holding her hand gently. He looked up at all of them as they came to. He was no fool, he had watched their activity through his My Panel and he already knew the outcome. His words did not really reveal any emotion as he looked at all of them.

"Now you all are stuck here... Like me."


	3. Chapter 3 Clan Shinsei United!

The Reaper Files : The Chaser Infection

Chapter 3

Clan Shinsei United!

In this Chapter we introduce Dawn as FewSunlight as well as Joe as ArcticFeredir. However they will not be virtualized yet.

Everyone looked at Gamoden as he spoke, not sure what to say in response. It was not exactly an easy concept to grasp. Suddenly being stuck here in this virtual world. Their bodies in a coma on the outside world. At least they all knew that there were people who would be aware of their condition. Michelle and James had Dawn living with them, Amy lived with her parents, Kichi had his room mates as did the others. However, that just raised more problems really…

"Oh James!" Misheru said as she wrapped her arms around him, clearly she was very worried about all of this, "What are we going to do? We have the apartment we need to take care of and work and rent… We can't just be stuck here."

Gamoden held his wife close to him and nodded his head in agreement to her words, unsure of what to say in response though. Still he had to say something.

"I know love… Though I am not all that sure there is anything we can do until we can figure out the cause of all of this."

"This is not good!" Whitemantis yelled suddenly, "Don't get me wrong, somehow this is all very cool, like something out of .Hack but we can't just say here. We all have bills and work!"

Gamoden couldn't help but chuckle lightly at her reaction. This was definitely like something out of .hack, an anime that a lot of the members of Clan Shinsei apparently liked. He had thought very much the same thing after the shock of their virtualization had finally passed.

"So are you all alright?"

Gamoden asked as he looked at the group, all of them seemed to have come to, not that that was a good thing. It just meant that all of them had fallen to same thing that he had. Not that it was a good thing, but there were worse possible fates, it could have killed them.

"Aside from being stuck here, yeah we all are fine. Or as fine as those who are comatose can be." Owl replied, "Michelle maybe you should check the message boards, see if anyone has replied."

"Oh! Right!"

Misheru said as she quickly rose to her feet and made her way over to the message boards. Her hopeful expression soon turned to one of confusion and concern as she looked at the message.

"That's strange…"

Gamoden quickly got up and followed after her, placing his hand on her shoulder as he looked at the board with her.

"What is?"

"The topic I posted… it says it's been deleted by the system administration."

"You're right," He said as he gently rubbed her shoulder, "Well we can can always repost. Everyone get over here and post your username in response! Maybe we will get word if they see just how many people have been effected."

Misheru quickly pulled out her My Panel and began typing into the text pad to a new topic to the message boards. The message read:

Topic: Clan Shinsei - unable to log out.

The following members who will post their own replies were playing a Chaser Match when they were defeated and are now stuck in the game… Though we are still somehow still logged in and able to act, our bodies outside of this game are in a comatose state. Anybody with information regarding this strange occurrence please tell us what you know.

MisheruKuro

"Alright guys, punch in your replies now, "Misheru said as she stepped away when she was finished.

Gamoden then pulled out his My Panel and began to type in his message, it read:

Please help us, any bit of information helps!

Gamoden

The other members of Clan Shinsei who were there followed suit, all of them typing up their own replies and adding them to Misheru's topic. All of them with the same hope that they would get some kind of answer from someone. They had no

idea how long it was going to take for them to get a reply if any though.

"So what now guys?" Gamoden asked, looking at the group, It's going to get pretty boring if we just sit here waiting. Shall we do some kind of match?"

"Is it safe love?" Misheru asked him, a look of concern on her face, "Who knows what else could happen while we're stuck here… Is it wise to tempt things?"

"I was already in a match when you guys first got on after I was virtualized remember? Sure it's a little weird not having a body at all for a few seconds as you re-spawn but believe me it's safe. As long as we stay away from Chaser matches we should be fine."

It took a bit, but finally everyone was swayed by Gamoden's logic and agreed that it was better then just sitting around doing nothing. So they agreed to do a Death Match at good old Neden 1. Kichi as usual, making the room naming it "BLARG" and before long the match was underway. Kichi had left it open, since it was currently a four on three match. Gamoden, Kichi, Michelle and Owl against Mantis, Taowel and ArcanaFate.

Gamoden ran up the ramp that was his groups starting point, his sub-machine guns at the ready as he surveyed the area. Immediately checking around for their opponents. With confidence he went into a "Dash" running across the bridge just seconds before it was destroyed by gunfire.

'From the roof!'

He quickly deduced as he saw the angle the bullets came from. Before he could even raise his guns though OwlEyes had blasted Arcana with his Rail Gun classic sniper style. No time to celebrate though as Gamoden quickly pulled out his Counter Sword to come down upon Taowel with the jumping strike. The large telekinetic gauntlet coming down with impact and finishing off Tao with the upward psychic hand that erupted up from the ground. Sending him flying before he turned into ones and zeroes. Mantis soon went down taken down by Michelle's sub-machine guns as they fought down below in the waterway that ran through the middle of the area. Making the score three to zero. However, it was a long way till the 100 possible points and plenty of time still on the clock for anything to happen.

As soon as he thought that sure enough Taowel had come down from the roof of the warehouse above, defeating Gamoden in the same fashion that he had just been defeated. With the fierce in air strike of the Counter Sword. Misheru was soon defeated too as Arcana gunned her down with his semi-rifle from the roof. However, he was shortly after defeated by Kichi with his golden semi-rifle coined the "Pimp rifle". Kichi didn't last long either though as Mantis managed to actually catch him off guard and finished him off with a vicious smack of her Storm Bat sending him falling into the waterway before disappearing to respawn.

This usual chaos of the Death Match continued through the first half of the match. In the end, numbers making the difference but not by much as the team of Kichi, Misheru, Owl, and Gamoden led by only four points at the end of the first half. This was what the game was all about, and during the match they would gladly forget about the misfortune that had befallen them. The usual adrenaline rush pushing them all further at least they knew that it would. When half time ended they switched their starting locations. However, they all noted on their My Panels that there was the addition of a new face to the match, but not to them as their fellow clan member Dawn as FewSunlight joined the match. Evening out the teams to four on four.

When the Fumbi Dance, the "Half Time Show", concluded on their My Panels. The match resumed, Gamoden spawning on the other side of the map. Behind a fence that was right next to a small building. He did his usual, going into a "Dash" and running around the building into an area enclosed by a fence. Without even exiting the "Dash" He ran toward the fence outside of the building next to him and jumped, his feet planting into the side of if, followed by a push off that resulted in an in air flip, his feet planting into the wall of the building and pushing off again.. The all too familiar wall jump combination carried him up and over the fence he had just pushed off of and onto the roof of the large warehouse that served as one of the major vantage points of this Heavy Machine gun out and at the ready just as he saw one of his opponents run into the warehouse he was standing on top of. He quickly unleashed a stream of bullets, destroying the sections of the roof which he was standing on and fired down at Mantis from above. The bullets too fast for her to really dodge and she was soon defeated. However, Gamoden was soon defeated by the all too familiar blue laser to the face from Taowel's Rail Gun, finishing him in one hit.

"Stupid Son of a Rail Gun!" he yelled out as he respawned. Quickly running back into the fray.

Misheru and FewSunlight were busy doing their usual fun duel of the Storm Bats down in the waterway. However, it didn't last long as the lightning struck from Misheru's jumping strike followed up by a fast swing that sent Sunlight flying.

"Hey Tao! Hey Tao! Hi!" Kichi yelled out right as he blasted Taowel right in the face with the Rail Gun.

Owl took care of Arcana with a Counter Sword strike but was soon defeated by Dawn with a strike from her Storm Bat. Gamoden then ran into Mantis who was trying to find a safe place to hide and before she could expect it, opened fire finishing her with a few shots of his Sub-machine guns.

"You let your guard down!", He said to her. It wasn't really a chastisement so much as advice. One could never let their guard down in this game or they would end up being defeated. Case in point as Gamoden soon after went flying due to another blast of none other then a Rail Gun coming from Tao. "Guess I need to follow my own advice…"

Much like the first half, the second half proceeded in the same usual, expected chaos. People always getting beaten when they least expected it, bullets flying all over the field. If the field showed the damage it had taken instead of repairing everything that was destroyed, it would probably look a lot like swiss cheese. Before they knew it though the second half of the Death Match came to an end. In the end, the lead that Kichi, Gamoden, Owl, and Misheru had gained had doubled. But it was still close, the match ending at 100 to 92.

"See? Nothing to worry about." Gamoden said with a smile on his face as they appeared back in the waiting room, the familiar scene of Neden 1 from an aerial view still below them, "That was a good match though…"

He then turned his attention to FewSunlight, and though there was a smile on his face. She could probably note the concern in his voice as he spoke.

"I am surprised to see that you logged on, considering you of all people should know what happened. Well to Michelle and I at least."

She nodded her head in reply, she didn't seem concerned though as she considered his words.

"Well, I wasn't about to let what happened to you two stop me from getting rid of my boredom. But… How are you guys here when you both fell into comas?"

Gamoden rubbed the back of his head as he tried to figure out how best to word it. Of course she knew it happened to them, she lived with them as their room mate. Still she definitely needed to be warned about what was going on and possibly inform the others of the clan as well.

"Alright. Well it's not just Michelle and myself… Kichi, Rhiko, Tao, Amy, and Nick are the same way. Outside of this game we're in comas. But it's like we've become virtualized and we now control our avatars as if they are our real bodies. If you're going to still play, that's fine. But you need to stay away from Chaser matches. They're no longer safe. Being defeated by a Chaser is what got us all into this mess… Huh?"

His attention shifted to his My Panel as he received a notice of someone inviting him to a different room. The name on the invite wasn't familiar to him, but something was odd about the message. There was no decline option, only an accept. His eyes narrowed at it in curiosity.

'Well that's definitely different…'

He looked up from his My Panel to see the others who had also been virtualized looking at their My Panels as well. The same curious looks on their faces that he had as no doubt they had noticed the same thing about it that he did.

"You guys too? From some person named Leo?" the others looked at him and nodded, except for Dawn who looked at all of them confused, "What should we do?"

Everyone seemed to look from person to person for a minute, all of them considering the courses of action. Either ignore the strange message or accept and find out what is going on.

"To not have that other option sounds like a moderator or something like that… It's possible someone has a lead for us. I say we go." Kichi replied first, his logic did make sense in a way. The others seemed to nod their heads in general consent. "Well?"

The others who had gotten the message nodded their heads in consent and began hitting the accept button on their My Panels. All of them vanishing in the usual sequence of green ones and zeros and leaving the waiting room. Before he left though, Gamoden turned his attention to FewSunlight who having not been virtualized, obviously hadn't gotten the invite they all had.

"We'll meet you in the Lobby when we're finished with whatever is going on alright Dawn?"

When she nodded silently in understanding he pressed the button and was gone leaving in the same fashion as the others did. For awhile they would all see nothing but darkness until suddenly they would all appear in the all too familiar stage of Temple O. There had been no waiting room or anything like that to enter. It was fairly obvious that this place had been designed specifically for this meeting. They were standing in the center of the octagonal ring the shrine in the middle. They would notice that there were no entryways into the inner structure of the stage. Leaving only the inner wall and the courtyard they stood in and the Shrine in front of them. Around and in the shrine though, was a rather intimidating sight.

Surrounding the members of Clan Shinsei were many different people, some of them casually sitting on the surrounding walls, others standing on the top of the shrine. Some of them even stood on the ground of the level, very close by to the clan members. All of them though had their eyes set on one thing only, and that was the group.

"Greetings. I am Leo, the system administrator who summoned you here. You have been brought here because of what you have posted on the message boards."

The voice that they heard was deep and solemn as the man who spoke stepped out from the center of the shrine in front of them. Walking down the ramp toward the group. This man was quite possibly the most intimidating of them all in appearance. The avatar had long white hair and a beard, the face of it ancient an wise. All of the group would recognize the hair, face and the clothing style as the complete "Master" series. The dark blue clothing that looked like a half haori jacket with a sleeveless shirt that seemed to be composed of many straps. As well as a pair of striped pants and wide belt that seemed to be made of an orange and white rope. On the back of the belt was an orange drinking gourd. The gloves were dark blue tekkos and the shoes were special sandals. The complete ensemble was indeed a very formidable sight.

"Now then, just so you know. Your forum post has yet again removed. Just as your original one was. Until we find the opportune time to release the information to the public we must keep this situation under control and under wraps."

The group listened intently as Leo explained why Misheru's first post had been deleted and now revealed that the second post that they had all replied to had been removed as well.

"You're just going to keep it all quiet? As if nothing is going on!" Whitemantis yelled out at Leo, clearly she was confused as to why everything had to be kept quiet.

If the others didn't understand it then they were keeping quiet about it. It was hard to tell if she was angry or just frustrated with the situation.

"We have no choice! If word got out to the general public about the this situation, we would eventually be forced to shut down the game and the system. We cannot risk that happening for fear of what might happen the others who are stuck here like you, and we are sure there are others…"

Before Leo could finish Gamoden stepped forward, his eyes locked on the man that stood before them.

"I get what you're saying… But what exactly is the situation. None of us understand what is going on around here."

Leo nodded his head in understanding, going silent for a moment as he thought intently about how to explain it to them. It seemed that the other administrators and moderators that were gathered around them were allowing him to do all the talking to the group, acting as the representative for them all.

"Alright, listen up then and I'll explain. An organization that calls themselves the Clan Reaper hacked our system and stole the data for the Daemon Chaser Virus. At first it didn't really seem to be a problem. Though of course now we see otherwise. They have altered the virus somehow. Their members causing chaos by joining regular Chaser Matches. Somehow the ones who have the altered virus are the only ones that can be chosen… and well you already know what happens when someone is defeated by them."

"So why don't you just shut down the Chaser matches? Or better yet, delete the accounts of the people who control the altered virus? I think we can give you two of their names." OwlEyes asked after listening intently to the Administrator's explanation. "It seems like a better idea then just letting them run rampant. The Daemon Virus can only exist within a Chaser Match right?"

"If we shut down the Chaser Matches we lose our only lead." Leo explained, not even hesitating, "We need to monitor the situation so that we can gather more information on it. Try and figure out how it was altered, find a way to predict how and when it shows up. It is the only way we can hope to find a way to stop it. As for deleting the accounts responsible… We have tried that as well. But somehow the people responsible never show up in the databases. This is another reason that we called you here."

Now things were getting interesting. They had all assumed that Leo and the others had simply called them here to explain the situation and get them to stop posting messages regarding it on the message boards. But now it was apparent that wasn't all there was to it. The members of Clan Shinsei all looked at each other before looking back at Leo and all the other silent administrators. Aside from the slight shifting movements from where they stood or sat one would have to question if they weren't just included in this area for decoration or something.

"Well? What is the other reason that you called us here for them?" Gamoden asked Leo as he focused his thoughts and attention back on the intimidating figure. "Do you want us to help you in someway?"

"That is exactly what we want. We need you as a Clan to participate in Chaser Matches and try and gather information regarding Clan Reaper." Leo paused momentarily before continuing, "We have placed into your data a tracer if you will, that will gather information as you are near the Daemon Virus. We will be able to tell when you are dealing with an altered virus or the original. We have also done the same to the others who have fallen comatose and we will be recruiting them to help as well."

"So basically, you're using those who have fallen comatose instead of risking yourselves or others who have not. I guess that makes sense." Kichi replied after Leo had finished, "So you'll want us to participate in Chaser Matches again."

"Indeed." The system administrator replied. "Any amount of information you're able to gather will help."

The group yet again seemed to consider it for a moment. It wasn't as though they really had anything better to do. If they were part of the "problem" so to speak then they might as well be part of the solution. They all conversed amongst themselves for a few minutes, not seeming to care about all of the other people looking down upon them before they all came to a consensus.

"Fine then we'll help you." Gamoden replied, speaking for the group as a whole, "It doesn't seem like we have all that much of a choice."

Leo nodded in confirmation to them as he stood where he had the entire time not moving at all.

"I have sent all of you a friend request. Please accept it. However, do not try to contact me unless it is an emergency. That is all that I have to say. We will be in touch in the future."

With that he vanished in the all too familiar sequence and the other moderators and administrators, as silent as they had all been had also vanished. Leaving the Clan members standing in the now empty courtyard alone.

'Well no use sticking around here.' Gamoden thought as he turned his attention yet again to his friends, "Let's head back."

The others nodded and they all left the room together to appear back in the Main Lobby. As soon as they showed up they were greeted by not just FewSunlight, but another member of their clan, ArcticFeredir. Outside of the game he was known as Joe though. The two of them quickly made their way over to the others.

"So what was all that about?" FewSunlight asked them curiously, "What happened wherever you went?"

"We were summoned by the System Administrators. They explained to us what happened and told us that they wanted our help to gather data for them regarding the altered Daemon Virus that did this to us." Gamoden replied to her, a serious look on his face as he stroked the hair of the goatee that his character had, "That's about all that they told us though."

"So from what Dawn has explained to me… you guys are stuck here because of getting defeated by a Chaser is that right?" ArcticFeredir asked, surveying his fellow friends and clan members. He was wearing what looked like a sleeveless sports vest. Simple Gloves, The padded pants that most beginners wore, and simple tennis shoes from the beginning attire. On his head in his short black hair were horns that stuck upward though they were nothing more then an accessory.

"Pretty much." Kichi said with a simple nod of his head, "Hopefully Dawn told you but stay out of the Chaser Matches. It seems to be the only place that i's dangerous. We all did a regular match before and it was fine. Speaking of… Anyone up for a Touch Down Match?"

"Sure, why not. Let's go to Hyperium." Misheru and FewSunlight couldn't help but jump a bit in excitement. They had had fun at that stage, Gamoden hadn't even tried it out yet despite it being around for a long time.

Kichi vanished as usual to go make the room and before long they received the usual invite and all teleported to the Waiting Room. They all entered their names into the system and then hit the Change team button, this time randomizing it instead of the usual selected teams.

"Alright guys, ready up!" Kichi said as they all stood around the terminals and waited for the match to start, on their My Panels almost in unison all of them hit the Ready buttons and they all teleported down to the field below.

"Start! Show my your S4!"

The teams had ended up as Misheru, Gamoden, Mantis, and Owl against Kichi, Taowel, ArcanaFate, and FewSunlight. Everyone noted that Arctic didn't actually follow them but left without a word. It worked out though because it meant that no one who wanted to play got left out.

The two teams immediately rushed out of the starting gate and all made a mad dash toward the very center of the soccer field arena. Misheru took off using her Flying ability, unleashing a barrage of bullets at their opponents with her Heavy Machine Gun. Dispensing of Tao who was unable to dodge all of the fire. However, they weren't fast enough to stop Kichi from grabbing the fumbi who then shot a hole into the arena floor, causing him to drop down into the underside of the arena. A usually safe and quick way to the other side of the field.

"And KichiK currently has the fumbi, dropping down into the lower arena he has now broken into a "Dash" to get to the other side." The commentator said, "He seems to be making his way up the ramp, approaching the goal. Oh No!"

The commentator called out as Gamoden managed to finish off Kichi with a blast of his Burst Shotgun. He quickly rushed forward grabbing the fumbi and making his way out of their goal area and quickly blew open the floor just as Kichi had doe and ran along the side of it until he shot out the floor above him appearing right next to their opponent's goal. He quickly ran around the corner into the hallway that lead to their goal.

"Gamoden might just go all the way Oh!"

The commentator called out right as Kichi dropped down from their starting spot, dropping through the colored wires on their side of the field and stuck Gamoden at the last second with the bat and accidentally knocked Gamoden into the goal.

"Touch Down! They take the lead! Despite KichiK finishing him off, he knocked Gamoden and the fumbi into the goal for a touch down!"

The field was reset and the countdown began to start the next round as everyone disappeared and reappeared waiting for the signal to start.

"Start! Show me your S4!"

At the signal much like the first round they all took the offensive once again, rushing down from their starting place and racing toward the Fumbi at the center of the soccer field. This time Kichi's team seemed a bit better in sync, acting like a team.

"Oh! Misherukuro got gunned down by ArcanaFate. That is definitely a disadvantage to repeating the same move."

Sure enough, she had tried the exact same thing that she had done at the beginning of the first round, taking to the air, her mechanical looking wings taking her high above. However, it made her a big target as Arcana took her down with his Rail Gun.

"And KichiK has gotten the fumbi, he is making a mad dash toward the opponent's goal. He is very good at dodging the fire from his opposition. What's this!"

The commentator yelled out as Kichi suddenly used Anchoring, aiming for the area above the barricade that surrounded the goal. He successfully latched onto it and the sled under his feet quickly carried up and above the field. He then dropped down with a free run into the goal!

"Touch Down! They tied the game! A wonderful use of anchoring to bypass the defenses of the arena."

Back and forth and back and forth the match went. There was never really a definite lead during either the first half of the second half for that matter. At the end of the match it ended up as a draw at nine to nine.

"Just a few seconds more and I would have scored." Gamoden said as he let out a sigh, "Great match though! I don't it's ever been that close before."

"Yeah good game guys!" Kichi said with a smile on his face, exhaustion showing clearly on his face. "You guys are all getting really good."

They all seemed to have a great time, for the time being it seemed as though their misfortune had been forgotten. Even though they were stuck in the game and didn't know if they would ever be able to return home, it didn't mean that they couldn't enjoy it as best they could. They knew there was going to be serious trials ahead of them. However, they would face it together as friends and as Clan Shinsei.


	4. Chapter 4 Return of the Reaper

The Reaper Files: The Chaser Infection

Chapter 4

Return of the Reaper

A/N: In this Chapter we introduce another member of Clan Shinsei who has recently joined game. Her in game name is DaniNotte. Enjoy the resurrection of the Reaper Files!

It had been a few weeks since the members of Clan Shinsei had been virtualized. They had done as had been instructed by the System Administrators and had tried to collect information on the Chaser, as well as meet with any people who had been trapped in the game. However, every time they went into a Chaser Match to try and get attacked by the modified chaser, they got nothing. It would end up just being a regular match, nothing eventful to report at all. During this time, Pentavision had upgraded the game, adding in additional weapons, outfits, stages, and even new matches. The administrators were acting as if nothing was going on, a cover up as any member of Clan Shinsei was well aware. The S4 League had entered the Dark Lightning Era.

"It's all stopped, I thought things were getting more out of control. However, there haven't been any new reports of new people getting virtualized. We're still stuck here though, at least last time I checked," Gamoden stated with a sigh as he relaxed in one of the seats in the Lobby.

"If it's all stopped, we should have been able to go home then, right?" Misherukuro asked her husband as she gently rubbed his back.

"One would think," he replied. "What about you guys? Heard anything new?" he asked, his attention turning toward their friends and fellow members of Clan Shinsei.

They all sat in couches around a large table, their My Panels laid upon the tables as they browsed the web for any new reports or posts in the forums. They were searching for anything, some kind of lead.

"Same as you two I'm afraid, I haven't seen anything either," OwlEyes replied simply before letting out a sigh. "So strange…"

"Same," KichiK replied, his head resting on his hands as he looked up at the ceiling.

The rest of the members that were currently with them, Whitemantis, ArcanaFate, FewSunlight, and Taowel simply nodded their heads, confirming the same thing. Gamoden couldn't help but look down at the floor and let out a long sigh.

"Well, what a bunch of happy faces," ArcticFeredir stated sarcastically as he approached the group.

"We've had no luck, so sorry if we're not all that happy. Do you have some good news to give us Joe?" Gamoden asked, slipping back into real world names by instinct.

"Well, I'm not sure if it could be considered good news, but I do have a lead," Arctic replied, taking a seat in one of the empty chairs.

He set down his My Panel and had it access a full screen mode, projecting what was on the small screen in a larger size so that everyone could read it with ease. The headlines read:

"Virtual Terror Threat!"

The group sat in silence as they read the article that Joe had obviously pulled up from a website. It seemed to be from a general news site. A copy of an article that had actually been posted in a newspaper. Well this certainly didn't lighten the mood for anyone, though it seemed they were glad to have some kind of lead. Gamoden leaned back in the couch he was sitting on and looked up with a sigh, his fingers pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Oh boy… so it's not just S4, other major online games that went virtual have had reports of similar instances. Unlike Pentavision though, they're not doing much to cover it up," he stated looking back up at the group.

"So we're dealing with Cyber Terrorists? That's what Clan Reaper really is?" Owl asked, after having copied the article into his own My Panel for future study.

"So it would seem," Arctic confirmed, picking back up his My Panel.

"Do you think Leo is aware of this?" Mantis finally spoke up, clearly deep in thought until this time.

"Probably," Kichi stated plainly. " Though it may not hurt to send him a copy of this article.

"Aye," Gamoden confirmed with a nod of his head, looking around at the others for their consent as well.

When Arctic saw that everyone had gone and given the nod, he went ahead and forwarded it in a message to Leo. When that was done, a swipe of his hand cleared the My Panel and he set it back into place against his forearm.

"So the reason why things have been quiet here, is because the terrorists responsible are busy spreading out to other systems?" Arcana asked, looking up from the floor.

"Makes as much sense as anything else," Tao replied. "In an attempt to dissuade people from using Virtual Reality Technology and to stop the technological progression."

"Well that's just mean. Why is it with everything new, there is always someone who must oppose it?" Misheru asked, clearly irritated.

"Just the way of the world," James stated plainly, placing his hand on his wife's shoulder.

"How long does Leo intend to keep things quiet anyway?" Sunlight asked. "Sooner than later the public is going to figure out."

"He already stated that he was going to keep it quiet as long as possible, it's the only thing he can do to make sure the game doesn't get shut down, and possibly us along with it," Gamoden replied with yet another sigh. He had completely forgotten that Sunlight had not been there for their first meeting with Leo.

"Speaking of Leo," Arctic interjected suddenly. "I just got a reply from him in regards to the article I sent him."

Much as he had done before, Arctic removed his My Panel from the mount on his forearm and set it down on the table, projecting a larger screen for them all to read, the message read:

We are aware of the current situation, we are doing our best to keep it under control. Though things have been quiet as of late on here I do not think it will last for much longer. Be on your guard, We will contact you when we have information worth telling you.

Leo

Pentavision System Administrator

"Well that's reassuring, at least he's aware," Arcana replied sarcastically as Arctic picked back up his My Panel and returned it to where it belonged.

Gamoden couldn't help but chuckle at the evident sarcasm in his voice. However, other than that, he remained deep in thought. Though they now had at least a lead of some kind, there was still so much that they did not know. A fact that no matter how much he tried to shake it, disturbed him greatly. Right now, their staying ahead of the flow of information was key to their survival. There were many questions that raced through his mind, a good part of them regarding what was happening to their mortal bodies in the real world. He had no idea how long a body could remain comatose, it had already been a few weeks. He had heard news reports before about people having survived for months in a coma. It seemed that they would now be putting that to the test for themselves.

"Alright, well I am sufficiently bored now. Let's go do something," Kichi suggested as he stood up from his seat and stretched.

"What do you have in mind?" Gamoden asked, his attention turning to Kichi.

"Anything, come on. We're gonna go crazy just sitting here trying to figure this all out," he replied with a light laugh.

"How about a Death Match? I need to win a game for a mission," Arcana suggested.

"Fine by me, I need to win one as well," Gamoden replied.

After they were virtualized, for awhile it seemed almost pointless to a lot of them to participate in the missions. However, they played a lot more matches being stuck in the game, thus they used up a lot more of their items and the missions were now somewhat necessary to earn PEN to be able to replace what they lost. Though just playing rounds was an effective method too, combined with the missions they were always guaranteed more. Being stuck in a third person shooting game, there wasn't a great deal else they could do.

"Alright then, it's settled. I'll go set up the room James and Nick will be on my team as well Rhiko, that will pretty much insure a win," Kichi stated, yet again shifting back into their real life names by accident.

He then accessed his My Panel and hit the Create Room button, derezzing into the all too familiar green ones and zeros. They would all wait for a few seconds before receiving the message on their My Panels from Kichi. They all hit the button and soon they appeared in the circular waiting room that floated above the familiar stage known as Neden 1. An almost industrial district like map with a large warehouse in the middle, with flow from a sewer running in a channel below. Gamoden saw the well known stage through the glass floor of the waiting room.

Gamoden, KichiK, ArcanaFate, OwlEyes and ArcticFeredir signed their names into the Alpha Team panel, while Misherukuro, FewSunlight, WhiteMantis, and Taowel all signed their names into the Beta Team's panel, signifying they were all ready. The room was password protected so there would be no additional people joining, this meant that the teams were uneven, which is what they wanted. It was a method Shinsei used to insure that those who needed to win would.

"Alright here we go!" Kichi exclaimed as he hit the ready button on the panel.

"Fight! Show me your S4!" the all too familiar voice of the "commentator echoed through the arena as they all appeared, signifying the start of the match.

Gamoden appeared right outside of the warehouse and quickly went into a "dash" his speed increased as he raced up the stairs around the corner to a fenced off area. As he rounded the corner he brought out his Heavy Machine Gun. As the drum began to spin to life he was forced out of his dash. He rounded another corner and the bullets flew in the direction of the warehouse roof that was straight ahead of him. The bullets of the gun unleashing havoc, destroying parts of the roof as well as dealing damage to Sunlight and Mantis who were using it as a vantage point. He jumped around as best he could with the large gun to avoid return fire. However, he was taking some damage as well He managed to defeat Mantis and just as Sunlight was about to defeat him she was sent flying as a bright blue blast got her in a headshot with his railgun.

"Nice one Kichi!" he called, the voice appearing in the general chat window on everyone's My Panel, he didn't really care though, they were all friends after all.

Gamoden made his way into another fenced area and jumped up against it, pushing off in a flipping wall jump to face the wall of the building next to it. He then pressed off again in another flip to land on top of the warehouse he had just bombarded with his machine gun rounds. His gun whirled back to life and unleashed fire on Misheru and Sunlight as they ran around below. However, it wasn't long due to his decreased heath until he was sent flying by Taowel's Railgun.

"Gah! Stupid son of a railgun!" Gamoden cursed in his usual way, though a slight chuckle was evident. "That always gets me."

After the respawn time passed Gamoden reappeared inside the warehouse this time, he held out his arms to his side and Twin Blades appeared in his hands, the short blades with chains at the hilt were one of his new favorite weapons since their release. He quickly ran and stopped against the wall that had an opening outside. He would now wait for someone to enter, during which time he held the blades, their tips dangerously close as purple electricity charged in between them. He was preparing to ambush someone with a fully charged attack, a move strong enough to end someone in one hit if the impact was right. The chains of the blade were wrapped around his hands to allow for control.

"Got you!" he yelled out as someone rounded the corner. He didn't care that it was his own wife as the two blades were brought around and then down, slamming right into her.

Just as he had planned, the strike finished her off in one shot as she disappeared into green ones and zeros.

"Watch it Chickidee, James is going to try and ambush you!" Misheru warned Sunlight, using both her husband's real name, as well as Sunlight's nickname.

"Thanks sis!" she replied back a nasty laugh escaping as she prepared a surprise of her own.

Gamoden had indeed prepared another charged attack. However, he was unable to use it as suddenly a spiky ball with a yellow core was thrown into the warehouse. If his virtual eyes could widen, they would have as he recognized the ball as Sunlight's Earth Bomber.

"Oh not good…," Gamoden stated as he was forced to spin out of the way to dodge the blast. He was able to dodge the center of the blast. However, he still took a good amount of damage from the bomb.

It had proven to serve it's purpose though, it had stopped Gamoden's ambush as well as left him open as he tried to shake off the effects of the bomb. During which time Sunlight came in and opened fire with her sub-machine guns. Due to his already reduced hit points it only took a few hits to finish him off.

"That's what you get!" Sunlight taunted him as he respawned.

"I'll show you…." Gamoden replied with a slight growl in his voice, though that wouldn't show up in the text.

When he respawned in the warehouse again he quickly hunted down Sunlight, Twin Blades in hand as he charged forward. Right as she turned to face him he jumped. The chains on the pommel of the blades were in his hands again as he brought them upward in an x-pattern, hitting her and sending her flying as well as propelling himself backwards. As he landed he charged forward and quickly unleashed a series of fluid downward strokes with the blades finishing her off.

During all of the chaos, Arcana and Tao were engaged in a sniping battle and Mantis and Misheru were trying to take down Kichi. OwlEyes would also join in with a few one hit sniping shots of his own whenever he had an open target.

'DaniNotte' has entered the room.

That was what a message read on all of their My Panels, signifying that someone else had come in and was about to join the match.

"DaniNotte? I thought you set up the password Kichi," Gamoden stated, accessing the team roster to see that she had joined the other team thus evening the odds.

"I did. I'm positive," Kichi replied, clearly as surprised as the others were.

"Sorry guys, Dani joined S4 recently and I told her the password so she could join," Sunlight stated.

"It's fine, though it would have been nice if you had informed us that she might be joining us," Misheru replied to Sunlight's apology.

"Right, sorry," she apologized again.

"HEY GUYS!" Dani exclaimed excitedly as she entered the match.

"Hey Dani, we don't mind you joining, just know that Nick and James have to win," Kichi stated, yet again falling back to real life names.

"Got it," she replied.

"Guess this is what we get for always using the same password," Gamoden muttered.

Half time of the round came and all things went according to plan. Kichi's team led by a good 10 points, and they intended to make sure that their lead would only increase in the second half. However, they noted that they now had to contend with even teams. When the "Half time show" concluded the match was ready to resume.

"Start! Show me your S4!" the commentator yet again announced signifying the start of the second half.

Yet again the teams were out of the gate. Gamoden made his way through the sewage channel. and made his way back up above heading toward the warehouse. He hid against the wall in an attempt to ambush someone yet again. However, he noticed too late the slight blur of motion that signified one thing, someone was invisible. Before he could do anything he gasped as he saw the a red projection erupt from a blade that had just pierced through his chest. He recognized the curved style of the blade as the Spy Dagger. The strike from behind was a one-hit kill and he respawned.

"Oh she will pay for that…," he muttered as he made his way back toward the warehouse at a dash.

Right as he was about to enter the warehouse, he saw the blur of motion running away from it, signifying that she was on the move.

"I've got you!" he yelled as he pulled out his semi-rifle and fired at Dani's invisible form.

He had gotten used to tracking invisible people in the many matches that he had had to deal with them and soon she was defeated. The general chaos of the Death Match continued at break neck speed, people falling right in left in an epic clash that was closer than had been anticipated. In the end their objective was complete Kich, Gamoden, Owl, Arcana, and Arctic won the match 80 to 76.

"Yeah! Alright! Mission complete!" Gamoden exclaimed in joy as they returned to the Waiting Room after the match. "Great match, that was a lot of fun."

"Indeed, what now?" Dani asked, looking at the group. "Dawn has explained very little to me. Can you guys please fill me in on what has happened."

The members of Clan Shinsei looked at each other for a moment before slowly they all gave a simple nod, a sign confirming that they should tell her the information. They all left the Waiting Room and returned to the Lobby where they sat in the same seats they had had earlier.

"Alright Dani, we believe we are stuck in here because of some cyber terrorists. They hacked into the system and corrupted the Daemon virus in the Chaser Matches to make it so that those that are defeated get stuck here. We have no idea how many others are stuck in the same situation as we are. However, we have been asked by the System Administrators to help try and gather information regarding the modified Chaser. It's not as though we can do a great deal else while we're stuck here," Gamoden stated with yet another heavy sigh.

"I want to help you guys," she stated plainly. "You guys are my friends, I won't let you face this alone!"

"We don't need you getting stuck in here too though. I don't want Dawn or Joe getting stuck in here either. If you want to help, help us on the outside and don't go anywhere near the Chaser Matches please. It seems to be the only way they can get into the system. Please, the last thing I want is any more of our friends stuck in here like us," Gamoden stated, his gaze looking right into Dani's eyes, trying to make her understand.

"You all want this? Or just you?" Dani asked in response, her gaze locked on Gamoden. "Do you think Dawn and Joe feel the same way as you do?"

"She has a point actually, I want you guys back with us. If that means getting stuck in here myself then so be it," Sunlight finally spoke up.

Arctic showed no real response, so Gamoden's gaze looked around at the other members who had been virtualized. He had hoped that they wouldn't want them to be stuck here as well. His attention focusing on his wife as he gently placed a hand on her leg.

"Love, surely you don't want them stuck in here like us do you?" he asked, trying to get some help to make them see sense.

"I don't know…," she replied hesitantly. "It isn't our decision to make, it's their decision."

Gamoden lowered his gaze with a heavy sigh as he looked into the eyes of the other members of Clan Shinsei, trying to see if they were all thinking along the same lines. Definitely a problem with digital eyes, they didn't really hold as much emotion as real ones. However, it seemed like none of them were going to put up a fight.

"Fine, if you want to end up in a coma just as we are. I can't stop you it seems," he stated and stood up.

"I have a Chaser Match I need to do at Temple - O anyway, we might as well do it together don't you think?" Dani asked with a smile as she stood up as well.

Gamoden simply shook his head in disbelief, it seemed she was intent on completely disregarding what he had said regarding Chaser Matches. However, it was better than letting her go alone, it was still part of their job to try and get the modified Chasers to appear.

"Kichi, get Gensoukyo ready then," Gamoden requested with a light chuckle.

"Right, I'll invite you guys shortly," he replied with a nervous smile as he disappeared.

Everyone knew that Kichi had a habit of naming the rooms for their matches after game references. He typically called Temple-O Gensoukyo, a Touhou reference. Before long they all received the usual invite to the room and below the waiting room. Everyone, aside from Arctic, who seemed to have logged off once again. The all too familiar appearance of the shrine in the middle of Temple-O was visible. They all readied up and the next thing they knew it they were all on the field and the skeletal Chaser Virus appeared.

"This is the Chaser!" came the announcer's voice.

Standing in the center of the room was Kichi apparently the chosen Chaser for this round.

"Oh this is just as bad as the modified chaser," Gamoden stated jokingly.

"Ready! Go!" the announcer stated, signifying the start of the round.

Immediately the players dispersed, running away from the room or shooting out the glass to get to the outer courtyard as Kichi approached. His infamous Storm Bat in hand as he took down Rhiko with a well timed lightning strike. He continued down the line of targets as he always did and barely finished out the round beating all of the targets.

"Next round… will be… starting!"

The interruptions were brief, but definitely noticeable as the announcer spoke, a hint of static in the message. The scenery around them flickered briefly before returning.

"This… is… the… chaser!"

Standing in the center of the Shrine this time was someone completely different, not one of the original combatants. The name on the screen read Bloody_Reaper. The combatant was encased in the Guardian Force armor set, making it impossible to see his face.

"Leave now! They've returned!" Gamoden yelled as he realized all too well that it was one of the modified Chasers.

"Bring it!"

"We can't! It won't let us leave the game!" Sunlight yelled out as she began to run away.

Gamoden felt it, he was sure that all of them did, his heart beating fiercely in his chest as fear gripped them. What had been nothing more then a sound effect in the last round, as it had in the past had become real. He held out his hand and his Revolver digitized into it as he ran.

"Aaaah!" Dani yelled out in pain as she was defeated by one swift stroke of the Spy Dagger, the blade piercing into her chest as she faded into ones and zeros and was removed from the room.

"No! Run don't get near it!" Kichi yelled as he rushed toward the Chaser and tried to smack it away with his Storm Bat.

"Gah!" he yelled out in pain as the dagger then pierced into his chest, the same effect happening to him as had happened to Dani moments before.

"****!" yelled Arcana as tried to escape from the chaser before long meeting the same end.

"James!" Misheru called out to her husband as she ran towards him.

"Michelle! Stay behind me!" Gamoden replied as he unloaded six revolver rounds into the Chaser.

The shots were all direct hits. and pushed the Chaser back slightly. However, it seemed as though anything he threw at him did very little.

"Gaah!" Gamoden yelled in pain as the dagger pierced his chest, his hands instinctively came up to his chest in pain as he faded into ones and zeros. "Michelle… run…"

Unfortunately, they all knew that it was futile, the "Reapers" had apparently returned and they seemed stronger then ever. The pain from the dagger felt real to all of them as they were all defeated and ended up collapsed on the Lobby floor… Now all of them were stuck in the game. No way out, nothing to do but fight and tr and stop the virus that had now returned.

To be continued...


	5. Chapter 5 Outbreak

The Reaper Files: The Chaser Infection

Chapter 5

Outbreak

A/N: In this chapter, the power of the Reapers continues to evolve, becoming a major problem for the system. Sorry for editing the previous chapter. I had made a drastic error regarding one of the characters.

Gamoden's eyes opened slowly as he came to in the Lobby just as he had the previous time. He tried to sit up. However, the pain in his chest was making it difficult. He pushed himself up a few times, his right hand turning into a fist as he banged it against the floor. Times like these were when he hated being right. He looked at his fallen comrades around him. Things had grown a lot more complicated now with the addition of Dani and Dawn were now stuck in the world just as the others were. Dani lived with her, so at least for her, it wouldn't be long before the people she lived with would find their comatose bodies. Dawn was a different story though, she lived with James and Michelle. He was sure by now though, that their entire roleplaying guild knew about the situation. Hopefully that included their best friend Bobbi. She would figure it out… he hoped.

At last the pain subsided and Gamoden managed to get to his feet and make his way over to everyone else. He placed his hand gently on his wife's shoulder and then brushed his hand through her hair gently as she began to come to. He looked around at the other members. Sunlight and Dani were still lights out, the first time seemed to be the hardest on the body as their mind seemed to have to interface with the digital avatar that would now be it's new vessel. Everyone else, just as Gamoden and Misheru had, were coming to.

"Love, are you alright?" Gamoden asked, concern evident in his voice as he held her body against his own.

"I'm alright… that just really hurt," she stated as she wrapped her arms around him, her body shaking fiercely.

"That really hurt….," Dani muttered as she finally began to come around.

Gamoden kept his distance from her. He hated to think about it negatively, but they had brought it upon themselves. In his mind, they should have heeded his advice, then they wouldn't be in this situation. As Misheru let go and pulled herself up into a couch in the Lobby he followed her and sat down next to her, his hands hanging limply between on his legs as he looked down at the floor. He smiled only slightly as Misheru placed her hand on his shoulder. His right hand slowly reached up and grabbed her hand.

"I warned them…," he muttered. "Why didn't they just listen to me?"

"They did what was right in their eyes, regardless of the outcome, I am sure that they accept what has become of them," Misheru stated quietly.

"That doesn't change the fact that now, just like us, they're stuck here. Good thing Joe didn't come with us, or he would have ended up the same way." Gamoden replied and let out yet another heavy sigh.

"I I have a few other friends who play this game. Though they're not on nearly as often as they used to be, but I'm sure that no matter what happens, we won't be without connections." Kichi stated. having finally managed to regain his senses as well.

"Excuse me…, what has happened here?" asked a random player who had apparently noticed all of them. "I've never seen players unconscious as you guys seemed to be."

"The system is having problems, I suggest you stay away from Chaser Matches unless you want to end up like us," Gamoden answered, not even looking up at the person.

As Sunlight finally began to come around, Gamoden rose to his feet and made his way over to her. Regardless of how he felt , how stupid he thought their getting themselves involved was. Dawn was a member of their family in real life, no matter how annoyed he may have been at how they acted, he still cared about her like a sister.

"Dawn, are you alright?" he asked as he helped her get to her feet, like so many other times he had called her by her real name.

"That hurt…," she replied with a wince and a hiss as she managed to rise to her feet.

Gamoden and Misheru helped Sunlight over to the seat next to where they had been sitting.

"So that's what it was like for you guys? I can still feel the pain. How is that possible?" she asked, it seemed as though the was still in disbelief.

"Yeah, only for me, it was like I had gotten hit right in the chest twice. The Chaser that did it to me had a Burst Shotgun," James replied as he sat back down.

"It was a lot of small hits for the rest of us, the Chaser used a Heavy Machine Gun on us," Mantis replied having finally managed to get up herself.

Not even ten minutes later, the rest of the group had regained their senses. Again, as if it had become habitual, they sat down together in the chairs in the Lobby. Back where they started. However, Gamoden could already tell that it was getting worse. The announcements had become garbled and it had never shown the Chaser enter this time. Normally, he wouldn't have been able to enter, the room had been locked. Though he knew that their password was relatively easy, and had been guessed upon a few occasions. He was positive that was not the case this time.

"I'm going to contact Leo, the situation has become a lot more complicated," Gamoden stated as he pulled out his My Panel.

He quickly set to work on typing up a message to the System Administrator, the message read:

Leo:

The situation is beginning to deteriorate. The modified chasers have returned. Two more members of our clan have now been virtualized just as we were. Their names are FewSunlight and DaniNotte. We request that you add data tracers to them as well, so that they can help. The rooms themselves are beginning to be effected by the Chaser's appearance, the announcers messages during the match when the hacker showed up sounded somewhat garbled this time. We fear that the situation will only continue to worsen and believe that soon it will not be a small number of players who have been virtualized.

Gamoden

"Look good love?" he asked, handing her the panel to read the message. "If so, sign your name as well, you all do the same alright?"

Misheru looked over the message, being sure to read it and nodded her head, confirming that it was alright. She then went ahead and signed her name on the bottom of the message as well. She then handed it around to the rest of the group and after reading it they all signed it as well. When Gamoden got his My Panel back he sent the message to Leo. When it was finished, he leaned back in the seat with a sigh as he waited for a reply. After awhile of waiting though, no reply came.

"Well I don't know about you guy, but I really don't feel like waiting for his reply," Dawn stated, her impatience showing as she stood up. "Let's go do something."

"Let's do a Battle Royal," Arcana suggested as he too stood up and stretched a bit.

"Yeah, alright. Let's do it," Gamoden said, standing up as well before offering his hand to Misheru to help her up. Though in this game she didn't really need it, she took it regardless with a small smile.

"Start show me your S4!" came the announcer's voice and the Battle Royal was on!

Gamoden appeared on the lower level of the large airship Galleon, The room as per Kichi's usual style was called Muramasa's Ship, another Touhou reference. He called to his hands his Twin Blades and dashed and ran to the center corridor and up the stairs. On his My Panel he saw the announcement that Kichi had already beat Owl. The first kill of the match, making him the "King" and on his My Panel he could now see Kichi's whereabouts on the map. He seemed to be a good ways from Gamoden, and right now that's all that he cared about.

He held out his arm, his blades disappearing and instead the yellow and silver semi-rifle appeared in his hands and he took aim, unleashing a magazine of bullets at Sunlight as he ran forward. She turned and began to return fire with her submachine guns before escaping into an open doorway that led into what looked like the states room of the ship. Gamoden followed suit switching back to his Twin Blades as he closed in to melee range. She of course brought out her trusty Storm Bat, attempting to smash in his virtual face. However, he jumped, swinging the blades forward in an upward arc, knocking her back and allowing him to finish her off with a few strokes of his blades. However, he hadn't gotten through their exchange undamaged. His attention turned too late as Dani appeared right behind him and the curved blade of her Spy Dagger sent him flying into a wall, defeated. She had been invisible, which is why he hadn't seen her coming.

"That trick is getting really old…," he stated with a growl as he reappeared in a room back down on the lower level, much to his misfortune, right where Owl had apparently been camping. "Oh crap."

He quickly feinted out of the way of the large gauntlet of Owl's Counter Sword as it came down in an attempt to crush him, and then jumped out of the way of the telekinetic energy fist that rose out of the deck. His semi-rifle was back in his hand as he began to open fire. He hit Owl a few times before suddenly the sound of Heavy Machine Gun fire erupted throughout the room. Finishing off Owl, granting Gamo an assisted kill. However, he too was finished off by the rapid paced bullets coming from none other than Misheru.

Gamoden respawned, this time right outside of the room Misheru had just killed him in, and he looked in to see her still there. However, she was currently occupied with Arcana. He figured this would be an awesome time for payback as he brought out his own Heavy Machine Gun. The drum of the machine gun already spinning as he unleashed a fury of bullets of his own, taking down Misheru and Arcana. He paused for a moment to take a look at his My Panel. Kcihi's lead that he had started with as per usual, had not only held, but grown. Arcana and Owl nearly tied for second. This was the general chaos of the Battle Royal match. Just as the name implied, there were no real rules, and no teams. It was an all out war.

They all knew all too well where Kichi always was on this map, that was never the problem. The challenge was getting there without getting killed by someone else beforehand. Still, taking out the "King" was the best way to rack up points in this match, so that was Gamo's plan. However before that…

"Gah!" he yelled out in surprise as a psychokinetic fist rose up from the ground, smacking into the wall defeated. This time from none other than Mantis.

That was also standard for this time of match, hold still for too long, focused on your Map or the scoreboard and you were a good as dead. Back on the plan of attack now, Gamo respawned and immediately ran up the stairs, trying his best to avoid anyone. However, just like all best laid plans… they never fully work out right. He came face to face with Tao. He would be clever this time. He "dashed" away from Tao, dodging his opponent's bullets as best he could, though as usual a few hit. He rounded a corner into a room and brought out his Twin Blades yet again. He held their tips close together, sparks crackling off of the blades as he prepared the powerful charge attack. The chains wrapped around his wrists and he brought them crashing down in a powerful downward strike, defeating him with in one shot.

"That always happens, now to get Kichi," Gamo muttered as he continued on his way.

It seemed luck was finally on his side as he managed to reach the chute that led upward and to the area he knew Kichi was at. His semi-rifle was at the ready as he dashed in and opened fire. Much to his fortune, or possibly his misfortune, Kichi was already engaged with Owl. The two of them were jumping around, guns blazing as they maneuvered up and down the ramp and the area above. Right as Gamo reached them, Kichi managed to finish off Owl with his Spy Dagger. Gamoden opened fire, being sure dodge Kichi's attack as best he could. In the end, Kichi jumped down the chute at the very end, falling down to the lower level.

"You're not getting away!" Gamoden yelled as he quickly jumped down after him. As he landed he turned just in time to see Kichi get defeated by not only Sunlight, but also Misheru. "Darn it, he was mine!"

Gamoden's Heavy Machine Gun roared to life as he tried to take both of them out. He succeeded in defeating Misheru. He was just about to defeat Sunlight too. However, Kichi respawned and came after them with a vengeance. Finishing off Sunlight with his "Pimp rifle" his nickname for his special golden semi-rifle. His attention then turned back to Gamo and before he could find a counter to it, Kichi had closed the gap and the Spy Dagger finished him off. The chaos eventually concluded with Kichi winning with the required 70 points before the timer on the match ran out. However, he didn't win by much, the person in last place was only ten points behind.

"Awesome match guys! You all are really improving!" Kichi stated with a smile on his face as they all appeared back in waiting room. "So what now? You guys want to go again?"

"Sure, why not? That was fun!" Sunlight yelled in agreement, right next to Gamoden's ear.

"Ow… Dawn, volume please…," Gamo muttered, accidentally falling back into real life names, his right hand held up to his ear.

"Sorry…," she replied with a sigh. Sunlight had always had a very hard time controlling the volume of her voice, even in virtual reality, it seemed that was the case.

The general consensus of the group, was indeed to do another round of the Battle Royal. However, this time they decided to switch the stage to Neoniac. It was not long before the stage below the Waiting Room had changed. The large square office building visible through the glass floor they all walked on as they optimized their equipment and entered their names. Soon after, they were all transported to the stage below.

"Start! Show me your S4!" came the voice and the match was on.

They all raced toward the center, where immediately an all out fire fight began. Gamoden and Misheru's Heavy Machine Guns ripped to life as the bullets flew. Kichi unloaded with his semi-rifle. Tao and Arcana with their Rail Guns from the that surrounded the square middle of the stage. One of the Rail gun shots sent Mantis crashing into the wall, the first kill was Arcana's. However, Kichi dispatched him immediately afterward with a one-shot stab from his Spy Dagger. Allowing Kichi to claim his typical place as "King" for the time being.

Suddenly things started to go wrong though… a flash of light could be seen and static heard briefly. The scenery around them all flicked and they all ceased firing. The static sound returned and the flashing became more and frequent, as if the very stage on which they stood was fading in and out of existence. The scenery then began to get darker, as if someone was dimming all of the lights.

"Guys! We should leave now! Something is clearly wrong here…" Kichi stated, worried about the situation.

"It's no good! I've been trying ever since it started!" Owl yelled out in response, looking around warily.

Gamoden accessed his My Panel only to confirm for himself what Owl had said, the screen that had the Leave Room function was filled with 1's and 0's. As if the function no longer worked, or wasn't even there. Suddenly, the screen he was just looking at changed to reveal the Daemon viruses head, leering and laughing at him.

"Heads up guys! This is Clan Reaper's doing!" Gamoden yelled, his Heavy Machine Gun back in hand, his eyes darted around looking for the Chaser.

Suddenly, the Daemon virus appeared, floating down from the ceiling, stopping in the very middle of the stage. His scythe swung and he plunged it into the floor the field. It phased through, black energy emerging from the floor. The virus then brought his scythe out and from the ground, as if summoned rose a female. dressed in what looked like a racing suit and helmet. Though the suit was black and the detailing was all red. The visor of the helmet was pulled down, but one could tell the gender by the figure of the Esper.

"This match has been taken over by Clan Reaper! The rules of the match have been rewritten into a Chaser Match! Reaper BloodyDeath presiding. Bring It!" announced none other than the Daemon virus.

The members of Clan Shinsei knew they were all in trouble now. They made to get away, running for the sanctuary of the side rooms. However, they all noticed as soon as they reached them, that the rooms were sealed off. Leaving on the center square and the crossed pathways available to them. Not only had the Reapers altered the match rules. They had changed the entire setup of the stage too. There truly was no where to run and hide.

"Nothing to do but fight now!" Sunlight yelled as she charged forward, her Earth Bomber in hand as she lobbed it at the Chaser.

The explosion was actually effective, it sent the female reaper back aways at least. However, it didn't stop as she immediately charged forward with a weapon none of them had ever seen before. It was like a metallic gauntlet, similar to the gauntlet of the Counter Sword. However, it was sleeker and had wicked looking blades on the back of the fingers. With nowhere for Sunlight to run, her only real defense gone, the reaper soon closed in a blast of energy at close range immediately ending Sunlight who let out a horribly pained scream.

"What on Earth is that!" Gamoden yelled as he watched the wicked weapon quickly dispatch Sunlight.

"I have no idea!" Owl shouted as he opened fire, his rail gun managing to hit the chaser and knock her back.

However, that only seemed to agitate the Chaser and she set her sights for Owl. She charged forward, she quickly feinted to dodge another blast from Owl's rail gun. However, she got nailed by Kichi's sending her forward, only to get closer to Owl. Owl's yell sounded just as painful as Sunlight's as he too was defeated with what looked like a simple blast of energy at close range. She then quickly closed in on Kichi and succeeded in doing the same thing.

"That has to be the most powerful weapon I've ever seen…," Gamoden stated as he watched the Chaser quickly dispatch Tao, Arcana and Mantis.

Gamoden seemed frozen on the spot, his heart racing, fear paralyzing him as he watched his fellow clan members being destroyed by this vicious weapon. There was no charge up to it, just a simple blast of energy and that was it, they were finished. He had noted that unlike every other match, there were no targets and no timer. No brief end of round reprieve came this time. This was the reaper's game now, and they had no choice but to play.

"Eat this!" Gamoden yelled running around the corner and unleashing his Heavy Machine Gun in a barrage of bullet, doing his best to slow down the Chaser.

Much like all of the other ones though, it seemed to do nothing but make the Chaser angry as she began to close the distance. Gamo switched to his Twin Blades and using the jumping attack, knocked the Chaser back briefly as she got close, her energy attack falling just short of the mark. However, he didn't get lucky twice a she lunged forward and the energy struck him. He knew before he even felt anything that it was all over.

"Gaaaaaahhh!" Gamoden yelled out in agony as the energy seemed to course through his body, causing pain throughout as he faded out of the room.

It would not be long before the remaining combatants were defeated as well . All nine of the members laid on the lobby floor, seemingly unconscious after their most brutal encounter with Clan Reaper yet. However, this time things were different, they were not the only ones laid out on the floor. There were at least ten others who were in the same situation. As they all slowly came to, Gamoden pushed himself up off of the floor. His attention turning to his My Panel where he could now see clearly that there was a message from Leo. He raised himself to a seated position on the floor and opened the message. It read:

Understood, the System Administrators are preparing counter measures for when that happens. The data tracers have been added as requested. Contact me immediately regarding any further developments.

Leo

Pentavision System Administrator

"Looks like they better get a move on on the counter measures then," Gamoden stated with a sigh as he pulled his My Panel off of his wrist to his lap and began to type up a reply. His reply read:

There have been major developments, we need to speak with you and the other System Administrators immediately.


End file.
